Originally published on Jan. 23, 2025
By Zane Miller
First round
(8) #18 Bobby Labonte v. (1) #17 Matt Kenseth
(7) #97 Kurt Busch v. (2) #8 Dale Earnhardt Jr.
(6) #24 Jeff Gordon v. (3) #29 Kevin Harvick
(5) #12 Ryan Newman v. (4) #48 Jimmie Johnson
With the postseason beginning at Dover, Ryan Newman took
the race win to pull off the Monster Mile sweep after winning the season’s
first race at the track back in June. Fellow sophomore racer Jimmie Johnson finished
eighth with Matt Kenseth following in ninth, which was good enough to outdo Bobby
Labonte who had a rough day after an early accident to eventually finish
multiple laps down in 31st. The battle between Dale Earnhardt Jr.
and Kurt Busch was over before the end of the race, as Busch fell out early due
to an engine failure and Earnhardt Jr. crashed out just 15 laps later. The most
compelling series was the one between Jeff Gordon and Kevin Harvick, as both
drivers finished inside the top five. After leading the most laps in the event,
Harvick ended up in fourth, with Gordon unable to get by in fifth.
The eight drivers would be thrown into the fire at
Talladega, with Johnson as the first one to get burned in the Yellowhammer
State. After surviving a scary spin through the infield and back up the track with
no damage, his engine would expire shortly after, leaving him in 34th.
Newman got a solid fourth to move on to the semifinal. Busch made a valiant
effort to get by Earnhardt Jr., but would finish sixth as the superspeedway ace
earned his fourth straight Talladega victory. Meanwhile, Johnson was not the
only one to be foiled by a blown engine, as Kenseth’s motor also went just one
lap later. This allowed Labonte to force an elimination race at Kansas Speedway
with an 11th-place result. The tight contest between Gordon and
Harvick carried over from Dover, this time with Gordon getting the upper hand
with a fifth-place finish to Harvick’s seventh.
At Kansas, Labonte did not have a great run, finishing
17th after starting inside the top five. However, this was still
enough to pull off the upset over Kenseth, who was collected in an early crash
and lost a significant number of laps in the garage to wind up a disappointing
36th with his title hopes now over. Staying true to form, Gordon and
Harvick duked it out for one of the closest playoff series in Cup history, which
ultimately went Gordon’s way as he came in fifth with Harvick right on his tail
in sixth.
Semifinal
(8) #18 Bobby Labonte v. (2) #8 Dale Earnhardt Jr.
(6) #24 Jeff Gordon v. (5) #12 Ryan Newman
Lowe’s Motor Speedway would be the start of the
semifinals, with Newman taking home a strong runner-up finish against a
fifth-place run from Gordon. Similarly, both Earnhardt Jr. and Labonte would
finish inside the top-10 after running well throughout the night, but
ultimately it would be Labonte grabbing the early win in sixth as Earnhardt Jr.
settled for a ninth-place result.
Despite leading the Cup Series in wins in 2003,
Newman’s challenge at a championship would come to an end at Martinsville. Despite
having an impressive fifth-place finish at the treacherous short track, Gordon
would score his fifth career Martinsville win in dominating fashion, leading
313 laps in the process. However, Labonte’s path to the finals would not be so easy,
as he suffered a blown engine just past the halfway point. Now with no
pressure, Earnhardt Jr. maintained a top-five spot after leading 61 laps to eventually
finish fourth.
The final spot in the 2003 championship bout would be
determined at Atlanta Motor Speedway, albeit a day later than intended due to
rain, with Labonte and Earnhardt Jr. starting just a few inches apart from each
other at the front of the grid. Earnhardt Jr. was the first to grab the top
spot in the race, leading 32 laps early. However, Labonte took the lead for the
first time on lap 200 and remained at the top of the scoring pylon until being
overtaken by Gordon with 49 laps to go. Still, Labonte managed to cross the
start-finish line in fifth, only one spot ahead of Earnhardt Jr. to have his
shot at a third Cup Series title.
Final
(8) #18 Bobby Labonte v. (6) #24 Jeff Gordon
Despite having less than ideal regular seasons, Gordon
and Labonte would commence their finals duel at the Phoenix International
Raceway. Looking to make up for his infamous gaffe that cost him the 2001
championship, Gordon claimed a solid seventh-place finish, while Labonte was
saddled with 36th after being involved in a four-car collision with
less than 100 laps to go.
In what would be the final playoff race held at
Rockingham, Labonte was determined to keep it from becoming the site of the
trophy presentation. Running a special silver paint scheme to commemorate his
two previous titles, Labonte nabbed an eighth-place finish, while Gordon struggled
at The Rock as he finished three laps down in 22nd. With that, Labonte
would be returning to the site of his 1999 championship with both momentum and
good fortune on his side.
Tension was in the mid-November air at Homestead-Miami
Speedway, as both Labonte and Gordon started inside the top five. Despite
taking the green flag on the outside front row, Labonte was unable to lead a
lap for most of the event, while Gordon got by to lead a few laps early on. Halfway
through the race, Gordon was still holding on to the fifth spot, while Labonte
was mired around 15th. However, Labonte slowly began working his way
back into the top 10 by lap 200 when the caution came out. A quick stop by the
#18 pit crew enabled Labonte to move into sixth, one spot ahead of Gordon. The
Corpus Christi, Texas, native was able to keep Gordon in the rearview mirror,
until the race’s final caution occurred late to set up an eight-lap dash to the
finish. Undaunted, Labonte held serve in second, while Gordon could only get up
to sixth on the restart. While it seemed that Labonte had it in the bag, a
scary moment did take place on the final lap. Bill Elliott, who had been
leading the race for the past 50 laps, suddenly blew a tire right in front of
the #18. Fortunately, Labonte was able to pass the wounded car of Elliott
without incident and cap off his third championship with what would be his
final Cup Series race win.
Bobby Labonte’s stats for 2003 included two victories,
12 top-fives and 17 top-10s, taking eighth in points to real-life champion Matt
Kenseth.
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